Maruti Celerio Vs Tata Tiago - Space, Practicality, Features, And Comfort Test

Which one is the better hatchback for your family, let’s find out

If you’re looking for a stylish and feature-loaded compact hatchback for around Rs 7 lakh, you have several options. From Maruti, we have the option of Celerio and from the stable of Tata, the Tiago. With similar dimensions, features, and powertrains, both are direct competitors. Plus, both are now offered with the option of CNG as well. 

Now the main question is, which one of the two is better and more suited for your family? Let’s find out with our space, practicality, features, and comfort comparison. 

Looks

Both the hatchbacks are the better looking options in their segment. While the Celerio carries a simple and clean look, it’s still more stylish than the Wagon R. If we talk about design highlights, there aren’t many, save for the black alloy wheels. On the other hand, we have the Tata Tiago which looks sportier and carries several unique visual elements. The projector headlamps, LED DRLs, the alloy wheels and the chrome touches makes it look slightly more premium. 

Boot Space

In our boot space test, we try to fit three differently sized suitcases and two duffle bags. The Celerio is the clear winner here as we were able to fit large and medium sized suitcases with both the duffle bags, which is good for the weekend outings. The Tiago could fit small and medium suitcases with the duffle bags. However, both the cars have a narrow boot lip so you might struggle to load and unload the bags. 

Safety

Tata Tiago has secured a 4-star safety rating in the global NCAP crash tests, which makes it the safest hatchback in its segment. The Celerio hasn’t been crash tested yet. Both of them get dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, and rear parking sensors as standard. The Tiago goes the extra mile with a rear parking camera and a tyre puncture repair kit. 

Interiors

Fit And Finish Quality

Where you have the Celerio’s simplistic-looking cabin, the Tiago’s interior looks more stylish. The Tiago’s dual-tone black and light-grey cabin gives out the more premium finish, compared to the Celerio’s all-black theme. Both get scratchy plastics but the fit and finish quality is better in the Celerio as you can see panel gaps in the Tiago’s cabin. 

Cabin Practicality

The Maruti Celerio gets a phone storage space, a 12V socket, a front USB port, and cupholders, and so does the Tiago. The latter’s door bottle holders can fit only 500ml bottles, while you can keep 1-litre bottles in the Celerio. However, you do have a centrally-placed 1-litre bottle holder in the Tiago, where the Maruti gets power window switches. The phone docking space is very small in the Celerio as it can’t fit any big smartphones. The Celerio also houses a bigger glove box, but the Tiago has the cooling feature in it. While the hatchbacks have the basic cubby holes and storage spaces, more would have been appreciated. 

Features

For this price, both the hatchbacks are equipped with good amount of features. Keyless entry, a 7-inch touchscreen system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, all four power windows, and electrically adjustable ORVMs are some of the common features. With the Tiago, you additionally get automatic AC, an 8-speaker sound system (Celerio gets four speakers only), and a digitised instrument cluster, which are convenient additions. Celerio’s touchscreen infotainment system feels smooth to use whereas the Tiago’s interface isn’t that great and lags a bit. One of the odd things about the Tiago is that while there’s keyless entry, there’s no push button start-stop. You do get the weirdly-positioned passive keyless entry as well as engine start-stop button with the Maruti, which completely avoids the process of taking out the key from your pocket. 

Rear Seat Comfort

Both are small hatchbacks that will find it difficult to fit three average sized adults abreast. The Celerio gets a flat seat base which offers more space to fit three people and with that, you also get slightly better leg room. As for the Tiago, its seats are more cushioned and supportive and overall feel very comfortable to be seated on. The sense of space, otherwise, is very similar in both the cars. 

Rear Seat Practicality

Other than bottle holders on either doors, there are no convenient features for the rear passengers. Both the hatchbacks miss out on rear AC vents, a rear 12V socket or a USB charger. The Celerio offers a seat pocket behind the front passenger, while the Tiago gets none. 

Ride And Comfort

The Tata Tiago impresses us with its ride quality as it manages to soak up most of the potholes and undulations of the roads. Be it at low speeds or high speeds, the Tiago will keep you comfortable most of the times. The harshness of the roads are also less felt here. In case of the Celerio, it feels comfortable at low speeds but you can feel the jerks and the thuds over the bad roads. With our brief highway drives on both the cars, we can tell that the Tiago feels more planted on the highways as well. 

Drive Experience

While the Tiago’s 1.2-litre petrol engine feels more powerful to drive, the Celerio’s 1-litre engine is actually quicker and peppier. Both are easy as city runabouts but might feel a bit hungry for power on the highways. For high speed overtakes, you do have to plan your gear shifts properly. That said, they can easily cruise at speeds of around 80-90kmph. Engine refinement is one such thing where the Tiago could have done better. 

Price Check

As we said earlier, both the hatchbacks carry a similar pricing. In case of the mid and top-end variants, the Tiago starts to get a bit costlier but for that premium you also get some feature upgrades. Don’t forget that you get the option of CNG with both the hatchbacks, but with Tiago, you have four variants to choose from. Maruti offers the cleaner fuel alternative only with the Celerio’s VXI variant. 

Verdict

The Tata Tiago and Maruti Celerio are good city runabouts and occasional trip companions for your small family. The Tiago’s is a more stylish hatchback with better ride quality, more safety, and an overall comfortable cabin experience. However, the Maruti Celerio leads with its peppier engine, better fuel economy, bigger boot space, and the ability to fit three people more comfortably at the back. With that, you also have the quirks of both hatchbacks. In case of the Tiago, it could have done better with the refinement and touchscreen experience, while the Celerio’s ride quality could have been improved. 

Read More on : Tata Tiago AMT